Warner Bros is looking to excite family audiences that have OD’ed on Minions: The Rise of Gru with a new animated movie this weekend, the Dwayne Johnson–Kevin Hart voiced DC League of Super-Pets. Last night the Jared Stern-Sam Levine directed move made $2.2m in previews at 3,200 theaters.
Industry estimates earlier in the week have been optimistic for the film, seeing $25M-$30M at 4,300 sites which will easily assail DC League of Super-Pets to top of the weekend box office. That would be a super start considering Warner Bros.’ DC previous entry into the animated space, Teen Titans GO! To the Movies finaled its domestic run back in the summer of 2018 with $29.7M after a $10.4M opening. The comp here for DC League of Super-Pets is Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s spring animated pic The Bad Guys which opened to an $8M Friday, and 3-day of $23.95M after $1.15M in Thursday night previews, which Super-Pets easily beats.
The difference between the commercial results of Teen Titans and DC League of Super-Pets is that the latter is fueled by the combined social media promotional superpowers of Johnson and Hart which counts over 624M-plus followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
The $89M production follows Krypto the Super-Dog, Superman’s dog (played by Johnson), who is tasked with recusing the Man of Steel along with Ace, voiced by Hart. The pic is also opening in 63 international territories, repping 76% of its box office potential. Major markets not going this weekend include South Korea, Japan, Italy and Australia.
DC League of Super-Pets counts a 71% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, and though not in the 90 percentile range, middling reviews won’t keep families away from this Johnson and Hart family package.
Last weekend’s No. 1 movie, the Jordan Peele R-rated genre movie, Nope, looks to ease 60% with a $17M-$18M take in weekend 2. That’s the average drop for a horror movie in its second session. Nope ends its first week with $62M. Nope made $3.55M yesterday, -8% from Wednesday at 3,785 locations.
Disney’s Thor: Love & Thunder ended its third week with $34.3M for a running total of $288.5M. The Taika Waititi directed sequel grossed $2.5M yesterday at 4,370, -4% from Wednesday.
In third was Illumination Entertainment/Universal’s Minions: The Rise of Gru which did $2.3M yesterday at 3,816 theaters, -9%, for a fourth week of $29.3M and running total of $309.5M.
Fourth belongs to Sony/Tri-Star’s Where the Crawdads Sings booked at 3,650 theaters which grossed $1.7M, -5% from Wednesday for a second week of $18M and a running cume of $46M.
Paramount’s ninth week of Top Gun: Maverick is unstoppable with $16.3M, and a running total at $641.9M. Yesterday, 3,160 theaters made $1.4M, +4% from Wednesday.